Engine runs loudly and clangs when cutting tall grass , I have checked the oil (if i'm reading the stick correctly) and the level is good. I have cleaned the deck as well ... this is the first time this has happened since I bought the mower

Dear Sandi,
If I read your missive correctly, I believe your mower is too small for this task.
It would appear to me you could do one of 2 things.
1) mow it more frequently , before the grass grows so tall, ( like maybe 2-3 times a week,) or get a bigger and stronger mower.
Remember too, electric mowers are not usually very strong, but gasoline engine mowers , some are so strong they can mow a forest!
.God bless your efforts.

Natalie, it could be several things. be sure the tall grass you were cutting didn't get jammed under the mower or anywhere the safety switched are. clean it out good. check the battery connection and all other connections. take apart sand clean and put back together. correct oil level not to low not to high. it may be the solenoid has gone bad. be sure the engine can be turned over by hand. (not locked up.) check the fuse under the hood, if the fuse blows it wont do anything. you can jump the solenoid to see if the starter is still good. there is a lot of things that could be wrong. it is a matter of elimination.

Check the oil level in the engine. If you are mowing high grass and weeds, that will over-stress the engine. Make sure the engine is cleaned of debris and grass cuttings, especially around the engine cylinder.

Could be the gauge on the dash. If you really had no oil pressure the engine would be very loud.
A mechanic would check oil pressure with a mechanical gauge to verify.

check the clutch the the starter engages into for binding

Recheck your oil level. The smoking routine you mentioned sounds like the crank case is being over-pressurized from too much oil. That results in the crank case breather dumping oil into the intake of the carb. Then you see all the white smoke and hear the engine making odd sounds because of the excess crank case presure. Just re-check the oil level. There are 2 lines on the dip stick. The oil level should NOT be above the upper line with the dip stick fitted in the run position.

If you still have the problem please respond with an engine model number. If it is a Briggs and Stratton engine the number will be on the air shroud near the spark plug wire. Honda and tecumseh the number will be not far from the lower end of oil tube or next to the dip stick on engines without an extended tube stamped on side of the engine base.

Let me know if you still need help after correcting the oil serviciing level. There is more that can be checked..... just need that engine number.

Thanks for choosing FixYa,
Kelly

If you are cutting to much grass this can happen or if the throttle control is not in fast speed (rabbit). If it is in slow speed (turtle) it will tend to die down in tall grass or wet grass. Good Luck...

hi there

have you checked and removed any built up grass/ mudd from the blade/ bell housing ?
does the blade turn freely after this ?

remove the pull start cover assy does the engine rotate freely ?

make sure the blade brake is not stuck on ( if these units use them )

if no check your oil level ?

if you have no oil reading on the dip stick you could quite possibly have siezed or partially siezed your engine

make sure you have not hydraulicd oil into the combustion chamber ( this raises compression )
to the point where it has too much compression and oil will not compress and causes a loc near tdc

take look and let me know

cheers pauly46

Did you refill the transmition level back to the correct level before trying to drive it?

Is this the first time cutting grass with a lawn tractor?
How tall of grass?
Use the grass cutting heigth adjustments on the tractor to a higher setting when cutting tall grass. Cut again to a lower height setting on the second pass. Grass higher than your tractor is not good for your tractor. Follow the manual instructions for best results.